---
title: "Recording a clip"
description: "The recorder, trimming a take, and what each lead sees in their video."
slug: "en/customs/record/recording-a-clip"
url: "https://docs.custom.one/en/customs/record/recording-a-clip/"
capability: "clips"
published_at: "2026-10-26T04:40:49.114Z"
---
The recorder opens on a stage showing your camera and the page this clip goes
with, filled in with sample answers.

Along the bottom bar you have:

- **Layout** — how the camera and the page share the frame, plus the camera's
  shape. Vertical customs get three presets; horizontal customs get a fourth, with
  the camera in a corner. **Page opacity** fades the page so you stand out. It
  changes only this recording, never your page design, and must be set before you
  start.
- **Camera** and **Microphone** — pick your devices. The meter beside the
  microphone moves when it hears you; if it stays flat, you are warned before the
  take starts (you can still record anyway).
- **Screen** — share a screen or window alongside your camera.
- **Notes** — your script, on screen while you record. Only you see it.
- **Draw** — a click highlight, a pen, shapes and arrows, to point at the page
  while you talk. Marks fade within a second, and they are recorded with the
  take, so the people watching see them too.
- **Record**, then **Pause**, **Resume** and **Stop**.

A counter shows **5:00** as the target and turns amber in the last thirty
seconds. Nothing cuts you off, but clips are meant to be short — they are
moments, not a whole presentation.

Your custom's **video format** decides the shape of every clip. Vertical (9:16)
suits Reels and Stories, horizontal (16:9) suits YouTube. It is set once for the
whole custom, in **Video background**.

:::caution[Changing the video format means re-recording]
Clips already filmed keep their old shape, and a custom cannot publish with clips
in the wrong one. Settle the format before you record.
:::

## Trimming and saving

When you stop, the take opens in the trimmer. The silent ends are already trimmed
off — drag the handles to fine-tune, and watch the length readout.

You can also cut out the middle. **Split at 0:42** (or the **S** key) cuts the take
in two at the playhead; drag the new handles apart and everything between them is
dropped. Each piece has its own handles and a **×** to remove it. Playback skips
the cuts, the length shows what you are keeping, and **Cuts** beside it counts
how many you made.

- **Reset** puts the handles back
- **Re-record** throws the take away and starts again
- **Save clip** keeps it

A saved take is queued and processed, then the clip turns green with its
runtime. Clips not yet filmed stay white with a dashed outline and a **Record**
marker.

To change a saved take, open the clip again: **Re-record** replaces it, and the
trim track under the player adjusts the one you have — **Save trim** keeps the
change.

### Going back to the original recording

Cut too much? **Revert to original** puts back the full take exactly as you
filmed it, page changes included — always the original, never an earlier cut.
Confirm with **Restore**, and once it has processed, trim it again if you need to.

- Your live video does not change until you publish.
- If the clip has a Say My Name (beta) position set, it is detected again.
- The button is greyed out on clips prepared for
  instant video, and on a few older clips whose
  page changes were not saved. Hover it to see why.

## Each lead sees their own page

The page in each lead's video is their own — their score, their answers, their
recommendation. That is what lets one take serve everybody. It also means the page
is never frozen: **redesign a page in Video background and every video made
afterwards uses the new design, including videos from clips you filmed months
ago.** If you rework a page, watch a clip back before you rely on it — your
framing may no longer sit where you left it.

With more than one page, the **Pages** rail down the left of the stage picks the
page for this take. Choose it before you press Record, or switch while recording
and the video switches with you. Once a take is filmed its pages are fixed: hover
the clip to see **Filmed on** and the page name.